Bluffton High golf standout Hammonds facing drug charges

A Bluffton teenager who was named the Island Packet's 2012 Girls Golf Most Valuable Player was arrested last week, accused of distributing prescription pills during class, according to police.

Brandi Marie Hammonds, 18, was arrested the morning of Dec. 13 by the Bluffton Police Department and charged with unlawful dispensing or distributing of a schedule II narcotic and dispensing or distributing drugs within a half mile of a school, according to Capt. Angela McCall-Tanner.

On Dec. 5, a staff member of Bluffton High School told police Hammonds was giving students pills from her prescription, according to a report on the incident.

After searching Hammonds, officers confiscated one dose of Vyvanse, an ADHD medication, and one pill from a separate prescription. Police confirmed with Hammonds' parents that the medications were meant to remain at their home, the report said.

Bluffton High School staff also interviewed several students who said they witnessed Hammonds give out pills.

One of the students reportedly received a muscle relaxer from Hammonds on Dec. 5 after she complained of leg pain. Others told police it was not the first time they had seen Hammonds distribute pills in class, the report said.

Hammonds was suspended pending an expulsionary hearing with the Beaufort County School District.

On Dec. 13, she was arrested and then released from the Beaufort County Detention Center on personal bonds totaling $20,000, according to court records.

Hammonds was unavailable for comment.

Beaufort County School District spokesman Jim Foster said Friday that the district would not comment on disciplinary issues. However, on Dec. 19, Hammonds' Twitter account posted a message that she had been expelled and was on house arrest.

At a hearing for a separate incident Dec. 5, the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office said it would not prosecute Hammonds on an Aug. 9 hit-and-run charge, according to court records.

On the afternoon of Aug. 1, she allegedly backed into another vehicle at Parker's on Evan Way in Bluffton and then drove away, according to a police report. She was arrested Aug. 9 and released from jail later that day on a $3,000 personal bond.

This fall, Hammonds led the Bluffton golf team to a third-place finish in the S.C. High School League 4-A Championship. She tied for seventh individually to earn all-state honors and was the Bobcats' co-MVP.